My Lenten Journey

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear fiends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

As I have pondered the journey I am to take this Lenten season, this verse has spoken. God's promise is for us to become sons and daughters through the removal of "unclean things" and separation from unbelievers. My prayer through Lent is that the Spirit will reveal those "unclean things" in me that I may ask Jesus to step in and begin to cleanse me of them. As for the unbeliever part, Paul was referring to being "yoked" with an unbeliever. Since I am not yoked with an unbeliever, I feel called to journey in a different way with unbelievers. There is a verse in chapter 5 which says, "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view." Paul is speaking about believers looking at one another. When I read it today, it spoke to me of unbelievers. (I think because of my job.) We as followers of Christ must follow his example and see others, unbelievers included, as he did. This does not mean that we conform to the patterns they follow or that we condone their choices or behaviors, but rather we regard them as Jesus does, through kingdom eyes filled with love and grace. This is my Lenten journey, through the Spirit's working in me, to be cleansed of my "unclean things" and to regard all others with kingdom eyes.

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His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course. All of Psalm 100 is praise to God. For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago. Let me explain. Have you ever asked God for His strength? Not just strength, but His strength. This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me. I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time. When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance. His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help but make me smile. I feel energized in a way

For Mom

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The Heart of Jesus

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I have had a difficult time finding a single verse today. I have been all over my Bible, reading and thinking. I'm settling on this verse, mostly because it is closely related to one of my favorite verses. I sometimes get caught up in thinking I need to do certain things to grow in my faith. These things are not inherently bad, nor are they necessarily good. Two big stumbling blocks for me are fasting and tithing. I find myself getting hooked into the religious value of them rather than the relational value. I find that spending time with God gives me a clearer picture of my own motives for wanting to do these things. I find that I usually feel the need to fast when I'm feeling poorly about my body image. I find that wanting to tithe usually comes after reading verses in the Old Testament about God blessing Israel for its offerings. Both of these are motivated by my selfishness. I am always am

Abbie Coffey

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